Method of remotely monitoring an internet web site

ABSTRACT

A method of performing a service which remotely monitors a Web site includes the steps of monitoring the site for an error and notifying a site representative in the event an error is detected on the site. Advance permission is not obtained prior to sending the notification and a fee is not charged for the service. The appropriate e-mail address to which the notification is sent is identified based on one or more categories and a priority assigned to all e-mail addresses identified on the monitored site. The notification may be sent, alternatively, to the representative of a site linked to the site monitored or to some other interested third party. Subscribers to the monitoring service may be enrolled automatically upon submission of their site to a search engine service or to a domain name registry. The list of service recipients generated by the monitoring service is usable for other commercial purposes.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to methods of remotely monitoring sites locatedon a global communications network and sending an electronicnotification reporting on the site's performance and, in particular,indicating the status of errors detected on the site during themonitoring process. This invention also relates to methods of acquiringand retaining subscribers to and customers of a service which remotelymonitors sites located on a global communications network.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Sites supported by the World Wide Web and accessible through theInternet have become a very popular way for many businesses andindividuals to offer goods and services. Advances in technology haveenabled dramatic increases in Internet connection speeds and computerpower as well as decreases in cost, thereby opening the door for smallbusinesses to build an online presence and allowing such smallbusinesses to compete on a level playing field with larger companies.Indeed, the number of small businesses that operate Web sites continuesto increase at a steady pace.

For some companies, particularly small companies, the Web is theprincipal, or perhaps only, manner for advertising and/or offering theirgoods and services. In addition to maintaining their own Web sites, manycompanies pay third parties to advertise their goods and services on thethird parties' Web sites. Still others create links to and from thirdparty Web sites, thereby establishing relationships with strategic Webpartners and increasing traffic to their sites. For these reasons andothers well known to those skilled in the art, continuous accessibilityand error free operation of a company's Web site, and the Web sites ofthose that are linked to or affiliated with the company, are critical tomaintaining a viable Web based business.

Studies show that, on average, many Web sites experience some type oferror event approximately once every two months. For many reasons, thereexists a need for companies to identify any instances in which theirsites (or those of third parties) are experiencing errors. For example,if an error on a site is detected, attempts to resolve such error can bemade. In addition, many companies who advertise on others' Web sites maytolerate only a minimal time period during which such sites areexperiencing errors. Similarly, companies building alliances with otherWeb-based businesses or investing in such businesses may require that aWeb site be experiencing minimal or no errors for a certain percentageof time prior to beginning a relationship with such Web-based businessor continuing such a relationship. Moreover, Web-based businesses may beinterested in learning that the percentage of error-free time for theirWeb site is very small. This type of information could serve as avaluable marketing tool. Along these same lines, companies may beinterested in learning about the Web site difficulties or successes oftheir competitors.

Thus, there exists a need for Web site monitoring services to enableusers to track and evaluate the performance of their Web sites or theWeb sites of others. At present, there are two different varieties ofWeb site monitoring services, remote monitoring and on-site monitoring.Many companies currently providing remote monitoring services present arelatively complex offering of services and may charge relatively highfees for such services. Thus, such remote monitoring services likelyfocus on serving larger Web-based businesses. On-site monitoringinvolves use of software that is either downloaded or installed andresides on the customer's servers. Such software is used to monitorsystems, intranets and test loads on the customer applications. On-sitemonitoring software applications typically involve relatively high upfront costs in addition to monthly license fees. Thus, on-site softwareis not a practical solution for small businesses with a limited budget.In general, such software usually monitors only the systems of theparticular customer that has installed the software on its servers anddoes so locally, not remotely. Thus, such software does not provide acomprehensive monitoring solution.

Therefore, there exists a need for a free service which remotelymonitors the operation of potentially all Web sites accessible via theInternet and reports the results of such monitoring in a convenientfashion to any party which may be interested in such information. Theneed is particularly acute for small businesses of limited resources,which depend on the relatively continuous and error-free operation oftheir Web sites to succeed.

In addition to this identified need, there exists a need on the part ofmonitoring service providers to reach the market of potential servicerecipients in an effective, scalable and cost efficient manner.Traditional methods of identifying, acquiring and retaining customersinclude, for example, direct advertising to target audiences. However,such methods are less than desirable because they may not reach a largeenough audience, are relatively expensive to employ on a per customerbasis, and result in relatively low customer acquisition and growthrates. Thus, the need for a comprehensive method of identifyingpotential recipients of monitoring services and a low cost, rapidlyscalable method of acquiring customers which results in high retentionrates and recurring revenue is apparent.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A method of performing a service of remotely monitoring a site locatedon a global communications network includes monitoring the site for anerror and sending a notification to a representative of a proprietor ofthe site in the event an error is detected on the site. The notificationis sent, at least initially, without advance permission of therepresentative of the proprietor for at least an initial time period. Inaddition, a fee is not charged for the monitoring service for a freetime period.

A method of performing a service of remotely monitoring a site locatedon a global communications network includes monitoring the site for anerror and sending a notification to a representative of a proprietor ofa site which is linked to the site being monitored, in the event anerror is detected on the site. The notification is sent, at leastinitially, without advance permission of a representative of aproprietor of the site and/or of a representative of a proprietor of thelinked site for at least an initial time period. In addition, a fee isnot charged for the monitoring service for a free time period.

A method of performing a service of remotely monitoring a site locatedon a global communications network includes monitoring the site for anerror and sending a notification to an interested third party in theevent an error is detected on the site. The notification is sent, atleast initially, without advance permission of the representative of theproprietor of the site and/or of the interested third party for at leastan initial time period. In addition, a fee is not charged for themonitoring service for a free time period.

The interested third party is any party other than a representative of aproprietor of the site. In particular, the interested third-party can bean entity which offers one or more products or services which aresimilar to one or more products or services offered on the site; anentity which advertises products on the site; a consumer of products orservices offered on the site; an entity which has a financial interestin the site; an entity which sells advertising space on the site; apress member; or an entity advising a third party who has an interest inthe site.

In accord with one aspect of the invention, the notification is sentafter expiration of the initial time period only upon granting ofpermission by either the representative of the proprietor of the site;by the representative of the proprietor of the linked site; and/or bythe interested third party. In some aspects of the invention, an offerof enhanced services is included in notifications sent after thegranting of permission.

The monitoring may include an attempt to download a header (all or aportion) from the site being monitored and detecting an error if theattempt is unsuccessful. Alternatively, the computer programminglanguage and/or graphics, or the entire page, of the site may beincluded in the download attempt. These monitoring steps may be repeatedat regular intervals. When the monitoring service detects that any errorpreviously detected has been corrected, a notification may be sent to arepresentative of the proprietor of the site; to the representative ofthe proprietor of the linked site; and/or to the interested third party.The monitoring may be performed from a variety of locations, in a cycleor otherwise.

A method of identifying at least one appropriate electronic mail addressto which a notification is sent upon an occurrence of an error in asite, located on a global communications network, which is beingmonitored for the occurrence of errors, includes extracting at least oneelectronic mail addresses from the site. Each electronic mail addressextracted is assigned one or more categories and a priority. At leastone appropriate electronic mail address to which the electronicnotification is sent upon the occurrence of the error in the site isidentified, based upon the priority assigned. The notification isperformed, at least initially, without the advance permission of arepresentative of a proprietor of the site. In addition, a fee is notcharged for the monitoring.

The categories may be assigned based on a variety of factors includingthe domain of the electronic mail address; the subject matter of theelectronic mail address; and the location of the electronic mail addresson the site. The priority is assigned based on the weights assigned toeach category assigned to the electronic mail address. The notificationmay cease being sent upon receipt of a predetermined response from auser associated with the appropriate electronic mail address.

A method of enrolling a subscriber in a service, which remotely monitorsa site located on a global communications network for errors and whichsends a notification to an electronic mail address upon detecting anerror on the site, includes identifying an electronic location addressof the site upon submission of the electronic location address to asearch engine service. A proprietor electronic mail address associatedwith a representative of a proprietor of the site is assigned uponsubmission of the electronic mail address to the search engine service.The electronic location address is automatically included in a databaseof electronic location addresses associated with one or more additionalsites which are located on the global communications network and whichare monitored by the monitoring service. The proprietor electronic mailaddress is automatically identified as the electronic mail address towhich a notification is sent upon the detection of an error on the siteby the monitoring service.

A method of enrolling a subscriber in a service, which remotely monitorsa site located on a global communications network for errors and whichsends a notification to an electronic mail address upon the occurrenceof a site event, includes identifying one or more potential electroniclocation addresses upon submission of an electronic location address toa domain name registry service for registration. A proprietor electronicmail address associated with a representative of a proprietor of thesite is assigned upon submission of the electronic mail address to thedomain name registry service. The potential electronic locationaddresses are automatically included in a database of electroniclocation addresses associated with one or more additional sites whichare located on the global communications network and which are monitoredby the monitoring service. The proprietor electronic mail address isautomatically identified as the electronic mail address to which thenotification is sent upon the occurrence of the site event. The siteevent may correspond to registration of the electronic location addresswith the domain name registry service; may occur when the site becomesaccessible by users of a global communications network; or maycorrespond to detection of an error in the site by the monitoringservice.

A method of generating a list of at least one recipient of a remotemonitoring service, which detects one or more events on a site locatedon a global communications network is at least initially generatedwithout advance permission from the recipient. The list is usable for anumber of commercial purposes in addition to the monitoring service. Themonitoring service is rendered by a service provider without payment bythe recipient. In addition, the service is rendered to the recipientcontinually until the occurrence of a terminating event. The terminatingevent may be the receipt by the service provider of a request by therecipient to terminate the monitoring service or a failure of theservice provider to receive a response from the recipient.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENTS

A more complete understanding of the invention may be obtained byreference to the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a flow diagram of the Web mapping process of apreferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate a flow diagram of the monitoring system of apreferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of an electronic mail notification.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of an electronic mail notification.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example of an electronic mail notification.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example of an electronic mail notification.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example of an electronic mail notification.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example of an electronic mail notification.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example of an electronic mail notification.

FIG. 10 illustrates an example of a periodic Web site performance reportsent via e-mail.

FIG. 11 illustrates an example of a periodic Web site performance reportaccessible via a web site.

FIG. 12 illustrates a flow diagram of search engine serviceco-enrollment.

FIG. 13 illustrates an example of a search engine co-enrollmentelectronic mail notification.

FIG. 14 illustrates a flow diagram of domain name registryco-enrollment.

FIG. 15 illustrates a flow diagram of Web mapping and list generation.

FIG. 16 illustrates the hardware associated with the monitoring systemof a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 17 illustrates the hardware associated with the monitoring systemof a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 18 illustrates a flow diagram of the e-mail address identificationprocess.

FIG. 19 illustrates an example of a sample category/weight chart.

FIG. 20 illustrates a data model of a preferred embodiment of thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

As used herein: “electronic mail” or “e-mail” refers to the transmissionof messages over communications networks, which e-mail systems may beconfined to a single computer system or which have gateways to othercomputer systems; “global communications network” refers to a networksuch as the Internet; “HTML” or “hypertext markup language” refers tothe authoring language used to create documents on the World Wide Web,which defines the structure and layout of a Web document by using avariety of tags and attributes; “META tag” refers to an HTML tag thatprovides information about a Web page, which does not affect how thepage is displayed but instead provides information such as who createdthe page, how often it is updated, what the page is about, and whichkeywords represent the page's content; “spider” or “spidering” refers toa program that automatically fetches URLs associated with pages on theWeb; “top level domain” refers to the suffix attached to Internet domainnames, for example, .com, .gov, .net, .org, .uk, and .ca; “uniformresource locators” or “URL” refers to an address of a certain page, fileor directory on the Web; and “World Wide Web” or “Web” refers to asystem of Internet servers that support specially formatted documents,referred to as “Web pages.”

In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, adatabase of URLs is developed by way of a Web mapping process. Inparticular, the database of URLs is created by first developing aninitial list of selected URLs. The Web pages associated with the initiallist of URLs are then subjected to a robot, preferably an Internetspidering application developed using, for example, PERL, TCL, or Java.The spidering application downloads a Web page and extracts all of thehypertext links to other URLs found on that page, thereby identifyingadditional URLs. As the spidering process continues, a master list ofURLs is propagated, along with the links that connect one URL toanother. The URLs identified by the spidering process, and the linksthat connect them, are saved in a database. Both the full URL and theparent URL are saved.

Each URL in the database is assigned a category based on a number offactors. Some examples of these factors are as follows. URLs containingidentified category keywords are assigned a predefined category. URLswhose content contains identified category keywords in the META keywordsand description tags are assigned a predefined category. URLs whosecontent contains at least three unique international characters (e.g.,ü, ñ, á, æ, ç, è) are categorized as being in a language other thanEnglish. URLs containing exactly one tilde character (˜) are categorizedas being an individual's personal Web page. URLs ending with fileextensions known to be dynamic content (e.g., .jsp, .asp, .cgi, .dll)are categorized as being dynamic. HTML resources containing META“charset” tags are categorized by character set (e.g., <METAHTTP-EQUIV=“Content-Type” content=“text/html; charset=gb_(—)2312-80”>refers to simplified Chinese). HTML resources containing the “lang”attribute in their <HTML> tags are categorized by language, as set forthby the ISO 639 standard. For instance, <HTML lang=“fr”> indicates thatthe Web page was written in French. A category is assigned to each URLbased on its top-level domain. For instance, the URLhttp://www.instra.com.au/faq.htm would be assigned the domain category“com.au”. A category is assigned to each URL based on Web serverkeywords found in the HTTP server headers (e.g., “Server:Microsoft-IIS/4.0” is assigned the “IIS” web server category). Acategory is assigned to each URL based on operating system keywordsfound in the HTTP server headers (e.g., “Server: Apache/1.3.14 (Unix)”would be assigned the “Unix” operating system category). Each categoryhas a weight associated with it. A priority is assigned to each URLbased the weights of the URL's assigned categories. For example, in oneembodiment, the weights may be added to determine priority. A samplechart showing categories and their associated weights for an exemplaryURL is shown in FIG. 19.

The process for identifying the appropriate electronic mail address tosend a notification regarding events occurring on a site is depicted bythe flow diagram in FIG. 18. In addition to extracting URLs, thespidering application extracts in step 1802 each electronic mail addressit identifies on each Web page spidered. Each electronic mail address isidentified as being associated with the URL corresponding to the page onwhich the electronic mail address was identified and is saved on adatabase. Each electronic mail address associated with each URL iscategorized in step 1804 and assigned a priority in step 1806.Electronic mail address categories are assigned based upon severalfactors including, for example, whether the electronic mail address hasthe same domain as the URL associated with it; the subject matter of theelectronic mail address (e.g., career, customer service, technicalsupport, information, jobs, legal, questions, sales or Webmasterrelated); and/or the position of the electronic mail address on the pageof the site. Other factors may also be considered. Each of thecategories is weighted and a priority is assigned. For example, in oneembodiment, the weights may be added to determine priority. Based uponthe priority assigned, one or more electronic mail addresses areidentified as the appropriate electronic mail address(es) to contact forevents occurring on a specified URL in step 1808. The electronic mailaddress(es) identified may be associated with some representative of theproprietor of the site, which includes the proprietor himself. In theevent that one particular electronic mail address is identified as theappropriate electronic mail address to contact for events occurring onmore than one URL, such electronic mail address may be assigned adifferent priority for each URL to which it is assigned.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention,certain URLs are flagged as disallowed during the database developmentand Web mapping process. For example, any URL corresponding to a Website which includes a file (such as a robot.txt file) indicating thatcertain resources on the site are not to be accessed by robots areflagged as disallowed. Also, certain pages of a Web site may includeMETA tags indicating that robots are not to access that resource. URLsassociated with these pages are similarly flagged as disallowed.

The spidering process is implemented periodically with respect to theURLs in the database, thereby updating and adding to the database ofURLs, links and associated electronic mail addresses. Each URLidentified and links to and from it are saved in a URL table. Thisinformation is stored, for example, in table 2001 of FIG. 20. Eachelectronic mail address identified is saved in an electronic mailaddress table. This information is stored, for example, in table 2002 ofFIG. 20. Each electronic mail address and corresponding URL is saved ina URL/electronic mail address assignment table. This information isstored, for example, in tables 2003 and 2004 of FIG. 20.

With further reference to FIG. 20, table 2010 holds information relatingto the parameters of the monitoring system. Table 2012 containsinformation relating to the top level domain names identified during thespidering process, including a description and the date each was foundby the spider. Tables 2016 and 2014 hold information pertaining to anyrobots.txt files identified during the spidering process, including theURLs on which such files were found.

FIG. 1 provides an overview of the Web mapping process and, inparticular, of the method by which the database of URLs and associatedelectronic mail addresses is developed in accordance with one embodimentof the present invention. In step 101, a URL is selected from theinitial list of URLs. In step 102, the URL is reviewed to determinewhether robots, such as spiders, are disallowed. If spidering isdisallowed in step 103, the URL is flagged as disallowed in step 104and, if there exist more URLs to process in step 105, the process beginsagain at step 101. If there exist no additional URLs to process in step105, the process is complete at step 106. If spidering is notdisallowed, the HTML of the page is downloaded in step 107. If METAtags, which exclude spidering, are detected during the download in step108, the URL is flagged as disallowed in step 104. If such META tags arenot detected during the download in step 108, electronic mail addressesand additional URLs are extracted from the page in step 109. In step110, each electronic mail address is assigned a category. In step 111,each electronic mail address is added to a list for future processing.Each URL is assigned a category in step 112, and added to the list forfuture processing in step 113. The URL and identification of the parentURL are saved in step 114. All URLs and electronic mail addresses whichare not flagged during the process are submitted to the monitoringsystem in step 115.

In one embodiment, the monitoring system is developed using Sun Java JDK1.2 and runs on Solaris, which connects to an Oracle 8i EnterpriseServer. A preferred embodiment of the monitoring process is described asfollows with reference to FIG. 2A. The monitoring is performed, in thepreferred embodiment, every hour beginning in step 202. In otherembodiments, the monitoring process may begin more or less frequently.The URLs to be monitored are selected from the database in step 204based on their priorities. The URL is first assigned one or morecategories as shown in step 112 of FIG. 1, each category having anassociated weight. A priority is assigned based on the weights of eachof the URL's assigned categories. The monitoring is performed in step206 by attempting to download all or any portion of a page associatedwith the URL. For example, a header (all or a portion) of the page alonemay be included in the download attempt. By way of further example, thecomputer programming language, such as HTML, and/or the graphics fromthe page may be included in the download attempt. Alternatively, anattempt is made to download the entire page. In step 208, it isdetermined whether an error has occurred. An error event is experienced,for example, if the host name in the URL cannot be resolved to an IPaddress; if a connection is made to the Web server and the Web serverreturns a response code greater than 399; or if a connection is made tothe Web server and the Web server does not return the requested headeror URL content within a specified period of time.

In some embodiments, quality control mechanisms are used to ensure theintegrity of the monitoring process. For example, upon the detection ofan error event on a given URL, two additional download attempts may bemade to confirm the error event.

If the URL is not experiencing an error, the process is completed instep 210. Upon the occurrence of an error event on a particular URL, anelectronic notification is sent in step 212, using for example MicrosoftSMTP, to at least one of the appropriate electronic mail addressesassigned to the URL based on the priority assigned to the electronicmail address, as discussed with reference to FIG. 18. For example, theelectronic notification may be sent to an electronic mail addressassociated with the URL and assigned a priority of 1. Alternatively, anelectronic notification may be sent to two electronic addressesassociated with the URL, one assigned a priority of 1 and one assigned apriority of 2, such priorities being assigned based on the weights (forexample, the sum of the weights) assigned to the URL's associatedcategories. In a preferred embodiment, only a predetermined limitednumber of electronic mail notifications are sent to a particularelectronic mail address over a certain period of time so as not tobombard any one particular recipient with electronic mail notifications.

Upon the occurrence of an error event on a particular URL, an electronicnotification may be sent, alternatively or in addition to arepresentative of a proprietor of a site, to a representative of aproprietor of a site which is linked to the monitored site or to aninterested third party. The interested third party is any party otherthan a representative of a proprietor of the site being monitored. Byway of example, the interested third party may be an entity which offersproducts or services which are similar to products or services offeredon the site; an entity which advertises products or services on thesite; a consumer of products or services offered on the site; an entitywhich has a financial interest in the site; an entity which sellsadvertising space on the site; a member of the press; or an entityadvising a third party who has an interest in the site.

In the preferred embodiment, the initial electronic notification, suchas the example shown in FIG. 3, includes a statement 301 that an errorevent has been detected. In addition, the electronic notification mayinclude a mechanism 302 pursuant to which the recipient of theelectronic notification can indicate that the recipient does not wish toreceive further notifications, given that the initial notification issent without the advance permission of the recipient. The electronicnotification preferably includes a mechanism by which the recipient ofthe electronic notification may register for continued monitoringservices. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the electronic notificationmay include a link 303 to a Web site page which includes a registrationform. The registration form may require that the user enter the URLs ofthe Web sites they want to have monitored (up to a certain number, e.g.,two); the electronic mail address to which error notifications should besent; and a password to activate the user's account. Additionalinformation such as job title, nature of the business and size of thecompany may also be required. Upon subscribing to the Web sitemonitoring service, an electronic error notification, such as that shownin FIG. 4, is sent upon the detection of an error on the site.

Once the notification is sent in step 212, the user response isdetermined in step 214. If the user responds by indicating that it doesnot wish to receive any further notifications (such as, for example,including the term “cancel” in the subject field of a reply e-mail or byany other means as directed by the service provider) in step 218, theelectronic mail address is flagged in step 226 and the process iscompleted in step 228.

If the user responds by following the URL in the notification in step216, a determination must be made in step 230 as to whether the usersigns up for the monitoring service. If the user does not sign up forthe monitoring service, in step 232 the system logs the visit as a clickthrough and the process is done in step 234. If the user signs up forthe service, in step 236 the system flags the electronic mail address assigned up and, in step 238, the system logs the visit as a conversionand the process is completed in step 240.

Preferably, if the recipient simply does not respond to the electronicnotification in step 220, the URL is tagged in step 222 with a numericindication that a notification has been sent to the recipient and therecipient did not respond and the process is completed in step 224.While an additional notification may be sent to that recipientindicating that the site is off error, further electronic mailnotifications regarding future errors may not be sent to that user withrespect to that URL for some predetermined period of time. For example,an electronic mail notification for future errors will not be sent tothat electronic mail address (currently assigned a value of one giventhat one notification has been sent and no response was received) untilthe monitoring service provider determines that electronic mailaddresses with a numeric value of more than one will be sentnotifications in the event their sites are on error.

With reference to FIG. 2B, after the monitoring process is commenced instep 242, and it is determined whether there is an error in step 244, ifthere is no error, the process is done in step 246. If an error exists,a notification is sent in step 248. Once the error is detected and theinitial electronic notification is sent, the URL is tested periodically,for example, every one-half hour as shown in step 250. After apredetermined period of time (e.g., one-half hour), it is determined instep 252 whether the error event persists. If there remains an error, itmust be determined in step 249 whether to send a second notification. Ifso, a second electronic notification may be sent in step 248 reportingthat the error event persists. If not the monitoring continues in step250. The cycle continues and if, after a predetermined period of time(e.g., twenty-four (24) hours), the error event persists, a thirdelectronic notification may be sent reporting that the error eventpersists and regular monitoring of the site will cease. Furthermonitoring may be performed infrequently on long term errors such asthese. When the error event ceases to exist with regard to the URL, anelectronic notification is sent indicating that the error event has beenresolved in step 254 and the process is complete in step 256. An exampleof an electronic notification indicating that the error has beenresolved is shown in FIG. 4.

Some examples of electronic notifications sent to a subscriber to themonitoring service are shown in FIGS. 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9. FIGS. 5 and 6show examples of the first error alert sent to a subscriber. FIG. 7shows an example of a final alert sent to a subscriber. FIGS. 8 and 9show examples of recovery notifications sent to a subscriber indicatingthat the URL is off error.

If after any electronic notification the user receiving suchnotification requests that the notifications cease, no furthernotifications regarding the status of the error, or any error occurringin the future, will be sent to that recipient.

In addition to the electronic notifications sent upon the occurrence oferror event detection and resolution, periodic performance reports,which detail the monitoring activity on the URL, may be provided. Suchreports may be, for example, weekly and include information such as thenumber and duration of error events, percentage of time the site is oris not on error, the amount of time required to download the HTMLcontent of a Web page, and/or the time required to connect to the site'sserver. The report may be, by way of example, in the form shown in FIG.10 or in FIG. 11. Graphs and tabular performance information displayingthe performance of the URL monitored over a specified period of time mayalso be provided. Such reports may include information as to allmonitoring tests performed, not just tests that detected an error event.The reports may also include, in some embodiments, information as to theperformance of competitor's sites, status of links from or to themonitored site and the performance of the Web site as monitored frommultiple geographic locations.

In the preferred embodiment, an electronic notification sent after theinitial notification may include an offer of enhanced services. Suchenhanced services may be enhanced monitoring services which allow forextensive customization of the standard monitoring service and/orprovide additional services. A fee may be charged for such enhancedmonitoring services. By way of example, the number of URLs monitored, aswell as the frequency of the monitoring, may be increased in theenhanced monitoring service embodiment. Recipients of enhancedmonitoring services may also specify critical paths to be monitored.Critical paths are a series of URLs, in order, that replicate variousWeb site functions, such as the path a buyer would take in ordering aproduct from a site. In addition, the form of the notification (such asphone, pager or electronic mail); the individuals to be contacted atvarious times; and the geographic locations from which the monitoringwill be conducted may be customized in the enhanced monitoring servicesembodiment. Preferably, for example, as part of the enhanced monitoringservices, the monitoring is performed from more than one location in acyclical fashion. For example, a URL may first be monitored remotelyfrom a location in Philadelphia, Pa., then in Chicago, Ill., then in SanFrancisco, Calif., and then in London, England, thereby more accuratelyreplicating the pattern of actual visits to the Web site. A hardwarediagram for accomplishing this aspect is shown in FIG. 17.

In other preferred embodiments, the enhanced services constitute thirdparty offers of services or products or other advertising content. Inaddition, the enhanced services may comprise an opportunity for the userto opt-in to receive dedicated electronic mail containing targetedoffers from third parties. The enhanced services may comprise, in someembodiments, an offer to allow the recipient of the notification toperform Web mapping and monitoring services on behalf of the monitoringservice provider. Other offers of enhanced services may compriseadditional Internet business services, including log file analysis, Website performance evaluation and optimization, and e-mail marketingtechnology services.

One or more of aspects of the enhanced services may, alternatively, beincluded in the initial notification.

Electronic records of the monitoring activity are maintained in, forexample, tables 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009 of FIG. 20. Suchrecords may include, by way of example, which URLs produced an error,when and for how long; and dates, times and subject matter of electronicnotifications sent. Such records can be used, for example, to prepareperiodic reports of Web site performance referred to herein.

Thus, the methodologies of the present invention are capable of mappingmillions of Web sites and the links that connect them, proactivelymonitoring these sites daily and, when applicable, sending electronicmail notifications to the most appropriate contact person alerting themto the error event. The methodologies used for assigning URLs andelectronic mail addresses different categories and priorities help toensure that only entities most interested in receiving the monitoringservice are sent electronic notifications. The electronic notificationand response process is managed to maximize conversion of prospects tonew subscribers and to minimize negative responses. In addition, thesemethodologies provide a trusted platform for the monitoring serviceprovider, as well as third parties, to upsell additional services torecipients of the monitoring service.

In other embodiments, the monitoring service may be offered inconnection with strategic partners, for example, other companies servingthe small business market, domain name registrars, Internet serviceproviders, hosting services, Internet consulting and Web developmentcompanies, e-commerce enablers and mass-market Internet services, suchas search engines.

For example, a subscriber may automatically be enrolled in the remoteWeb site monitoring service of the present invention when the subscribersubmits one or more URLs of one or more sites to a Web search engineservice. A flow chart illustrating this process is shown in FIG. 12.With reference to FIG. 12, each URL submitted to the search engineservice in step 1201 is automatically included in the database of URLsto be monitored in step 1203. The electronic mail address submitted bythe subscriber in connection with each URL during the search engineservice registration process is identified in step 1202 andautomatically identified as the electronic mail address to which anotification is sent upon the detection of an error in step 1204. In theevent the electronic mail address submitted by the subscriber to thesearch engine is invalid, a new appropriate electronic mail address willbe identified by the spidering process described elsewhere herein withreference to FIG. 18. Any password which may be required by themonitoring service may be randomly generated and assigned. An electronicmail notification, such as that shown in FIG. 13 by way of example, maybe sent to the subscriber informing the subscriber not only that the URLhas been registered with the search engine service 1301, but also thatthe URI., will be monitored and an electronic notification sent if theURL is experiencing an error event 1302. A mechanism is provided 1303pursuant to which the subscriber can request that no furthernotifications be sent to his or her electronic mail address.

In another example, a subscriber may automatically be enrolled in aremote Web site monitoring service of the present invention when thesubscriber submits the URL of the site to a domain name registry seekingregistration of the domain. A flow chart illustrating this process isshown in FIG. 14. With reference to FIG. 14, one or more potential URLsare identified when the domain name is submitted to the domain nameregistry in step 1401 and are automatically included in the database ofURLs to be monitored in step 1403. One or more electronic mail addressessubmitted by the subscriber in connection with the registering of thedomain name are identified in step 1402 and are automatically identifiedas the electronic mail address(es) to which a notification is sent uponthe detection of a site event by the monitoring service in step 1404.The site event may correspond to registration of the URL with the domainname registry service; may occur when the site becomes accessible byusers of the Internet; or may correspond to detection of an error in thesite by the monitoring service.

In addition to the monitoring service provider sending electronicnotifications, the monitoring service provider and its strategicpartner, such as the search engine service or the domain name registry,may maintain a co-branded Web site where users of the monitoring servicemay visit to view a report on the performance of their Web site.

In a further embodiment, a list of recipients of the remote Web sitemonitoring service is generated by way of the Web mapping processdescribed earlier. A flow chart illustrating this process is shown inFIG. 15. The list is usable for a number of commercial purposes inaddition to the monitoring service. The list is at least initiallygenerated without advance permission from the recipient in step 1501 andthe monitoring service is rendered by a service provider without paymentby the recipient (or in some cases even the knowledge of the recipient)in step 1502. The service is then rendered to the recipient continuallyuntil the occurrence of a terminating event in step 1503, which may bethe receipt by the service provider of a request by the recipient toterminate the monitoring service or a failure of the service provider toreceive a response from the recipient after an initial errornotification is sent.

The hardware requirements for a preferred embodiment of the presentinvention are shown in FIG. 16. Two servers 1602 and 1603 are housed atpremises used by the monitoring service provider at location 1601.Application server 1602 performs the monitoring services. Databaseserver 1603 stores the URL and electronic mail address information.Servers 1602 and 1603 are connected to the Internet 1604 by means whichare well known in the art. FIG. 17 illustrates a further embodiment ofthe present invention in which the monitoring is performed from aplurality of locations in addition to the premises of used by themonitoring service provider 1701 to house the database server 1705 andapplication server 1706. Additional applications servers 1707 and 1708are housed in locations 1703 and 1702 and perform monitoring services inaddition those performed by applications server 1706 at location 1701.Servers 1707 and 1708 are connected to the Internet 1704 by means whichare well known in the art. The monitoring services are preferablyperformed in a cycle from locations 1701, 1703, and 1702, from servers1706, 1707, and 1708.

The previous description of the preferred embodiments is provided toenable those skilled in the art to make and use the present invention.The various modifications to these embodiments will be readily apparentto those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined hereinmay be applied to other embodiments without the use of the inventivefaculty. For example, the systems and methods of the present inventionmay be used to monitor not only web sites, but also all devices whichoperate via a global communications network such as appliances,including household appliances, PDAs or cellular telephones.

Thus, the present invention is not intended to be limited to theembodiments shown herein but is to be accorded the widest scopeconsistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

1. A method of performing a service of remotely monitoring a sitelocated on a global communications network comprising the steps of: (A)monitoring said site for an error; and (B) sending a notification to arepresentative of a proprietor of said site in the event said error isdetected on said site; wherein step (B) is at least initially performedwithout advance permission of the representative of said proprietor forat least an initial period and wherein a fee is not charged for saidmonitoring service for a free time period.
 2. A method of performing aservice of remotely monitoring a site located on a global communicationsnetwork comprising the steps of: (A) monitoring said site for an error;and (B) sending a notification to a representative of a proprietor of alinked site, which is linked to said site, in the event said error isdetected on said site; wherein step (B) is at least initially performedwithout advance permission of a representative of a proprietor of saidsite for at least an initial time period and wherein a fee is notcharged for said monitoring service for a free time period.
 3. A methodof performing a service of remotely monitoring a site located on aglobal communications network comprising the steps of: (A) monitoringsaid site for an error, and (B) sending a notification to arepresentative of a proprietor of a linked site, which is linked to saidsite, in the event said error is detected on said site; wherein step (B)is at least initially performed without advance permission of saidrepresentative of said proprietor of said linked site for at least aninitial time period and wherein a fee is not charged for said monitoringservice for a free time period.
 4. A method of performing a service ofremotely monitoring a site located on a global communications networkcomprising the steps of: (A) monitoring said site for an error, and (B)sending a notification to an interested third party, wherein saidinterested third party is a party other than a representative of aproprietor of said site, in the event said error is detected on saidsite; wherein step (B) is at least initially performed without advancepermission of said representative of said proprietor for at least aninitial time period and wherein a fee is not charged for said monitoringservice for a free time period.
 5. A method of performing a service ofremotely monitoring a site located on a global communications networkcomprising the steps of: (A) monitoring said site for an error; and (B)sending a notification to an interested third party, wherein saidinterested third party is a party other than a representative of aproprietor of said site, in the event said error is detected on saidsite; wherein step (B) is at least initially performed without advancepermission of said interested third party for at least an initial timeperiod and wherein a fee is not charged for said monitoring service fora free time period.
 6. The method of claim 4 wherein said interestedthird party is selected from the group consisting of: an entity whichoffers one or more products which are similar to one or more productsoffered on said site; an entity which offers one or more services whichare similar to one or more services offered on said site; an entitywhich advertises products on said site; a consumer of products offeredon said site; an entity which has a financial interest in said site; anentity which sells advertising space on said site; a press member; andan entity advising a third party who has an interest in the site.
 7. Themethod of claim 5 wherein said interested third party is selected fromthe group consisting of: an entity which offers one or more productswhich are similar to one or more products offered on said site; anentity which offers one or more services which are similar to one ormore services offered on said site; an entity which advertises productson said site; a consumer of products offered on said site; an entitywhich has a financial interest in said site; an entity which sellsadvertising space on said site; a press member, and an entity advising athird party who has an interest in the site.
 8. The method of claim 1wherein step (B) is performed after expiration of the initial timeperiod only upon granting of permission by said representative of saidproprietor of said site.
 9. The method of claim 2 wherein step (B) isperformed after expiration of the initial time period only upon grantingof permission by said representative of said proprietor of said site.10. The method of claim 3 wherein step (B) is performed after expirationof the initial time period only upon granting of permission by saidrepresentative of said proprietor of said linked site.
 11. The method ofclaim 4 wherein step (B) is performed after expiration of the initialtime period only upon granting of permission by said representative ofsaid proprietor of said site.
 12. The method of claim 5 wherein step (B)is performed after expiration of the initial time period only upongranting of permission by said interested third party.
 13. The method ofclaim 8 wherein said notification comprises an offer of enhancedservices.
 14. The method of claim 9 wherein said notification comprisesan offer of enhanced services.
 15. The method of claim 10 wherein saidnotification comprises an offer of enhanced services.
 16. The method ofclaim 11 wherein said notification comprises an offer of enhancedservices.
 17. The method of claim 12 wherein said notification comprisesan offer of monitoring services.
 18. The method of claim 1 wherein saidmonitoring step comprises the steps of: (1) attempting to download onlya header from said site; (2) detecting said error if said attempting isunsuccessful; and (3) repeating steps (1) and (2) at regular intervals.19. The method of claim 2 wherein said monitoring step comprises thesteps of: (1) attempting to download only a header from said site; (2)detecting said error if said attempting is unsuccessful; and (3)repeating steps (1) and (2) at regular intervals.
 20. The method ofclaim 3 wherein said monitoring step comprises the steps of: (1)attempting to download only a header from said site; (2) detecting saiderror if said attempting is unsuccessful; and (3) repeating steps (1)and (2) at regular intervals
 21. The method of claim 4 wherein saidmonitoring step comprises the steps of: (1) attempting to download onlya header from said site; (2) detecting said error if said attempting isunsuccessful; and (3) repeating steps (1) and (2) at regular intervals22. The method of claim 5 wherein said monitoring step comprises thesteps of: (1) attempting to download only a header from said site; (2)detecting said error if said attempting is unsuccessful; and (3)repeating steps (1) and (2) at regular intervals.
 23. The method ofclaim 1 wherein said monitoring step comprises the steps of: (1)attempting to download at least one of computer programming language andgraphics from said site; and (2) detecting said error if said attemptingis unsuccessful; and (3) repeating steps (1) and (2) at regularintervals.
 24. The method of claim 2 wherein said monitoring stepcomprises the steps of: (1) attempting to download at least one ofcomputer programming language and graphics from said site; and (2)detecting said error if said attempting is unsuccessful; and (3)repeating steps (1) and (2) at regular intervals.
 25. The method ofclaim 3 wherein said monitoring step comprises the steps of: (1)attempting to download at least one of computer programming language andgraphics from said site; and (2) detecting said error if said attemptingis unsuccessful; and (3) repeating steps (1) and (2) at regularintervals.
 26. The method of claim 4 wherein said monitoring stepcomprises the steps of: (1) attempting to download at least one ofcomputer programming language and graphics from said site; and (2)detecting said error if said attempting is unsuccessful; and (3)repeating steps (1) and (2) at regular intervals.
 27. The method ofclaim 5 wherein said monitoring step comprises the steps of: (1)attempting to download at least one of computer programming language andgraphics from said site; and (2) detecting said error if said attemptingis unsuccessful; and (3) repeating steps (1) and (2) at regularintervals.
 28. The method of claim 1 wherein said monitoring stepcomprises the steps of: (1) attempting to download an entire page fromsaid site; (2) detecting said error if said attempting is unsuccessful;and (3) repeating steps (1) and (2) at regular intervals.
 29. The methodof claim 2 wherein said monitoring step comprises the steps of: (1)attempting to download an entire page from said site; (2) detecting saiderror if said attempting is unsuccessful; and (3) repeating steps (1)and (2) at regular intervals.
 30. The method of claim 3 wherein saidmonitoring step comprises the steps of: (1) attempting to download anentire page from said site; (2) detecting said error if said attemptingis unsuccessful; and (3) repeating steps (1) and (2) at regularintervals.
 31. The method of claim 4 wherein said monitoring stepcomprises the steps of: (1) attempting to download an entire page fromsaid site; (2) detecting said error if said attempting is unsuccessful;and (3) repeating steps (1) and (2) at regular intervals.
 32. The methodof claim 5 wherein said monitoring step comprises the steps of: (1)attempting to download an entire page from said site; (2) detecting saiderror if said attempting is unsuccessful; and (3) repeating steps (1)and (2) at regular intervals.
 33. The method of claim 1 wherein saidmonitoring is performed from a plurality of remote locations.
 34. Themethod of claim 2 wherein said monitoring is performed from a pluralityof remote locations.
 35. The method of claim 3 wherein said monitoringis performed from a plurality of remote locations.
 36. The method ofclaim 4 wherein said monitoring is performed from a plurality of remotelocations.
 37. The method of claim 5 wherein said monitoring isperformed from a plurality of remote locations.
 38. The method of claim33 wherein said monitoring is performed from said plurality of remotelocations in a cycle.
 39. The method of claim 34 wherein said monitoringis performed from said plurality of remote locations in a cycle.
 40. Themethod of claim 35 wherein said monitoring is performed from saidplurality of remote locations in a cycle.
 41. The method of claim 36wherein said monitoring is performed from said plurality of remotelocations in a cycle.
 42. The method of claim 37 wherein said monitoringis performed from said plurality of remote locations in a cycle.
 43. Themethod of claim 1 comprising the further step of: (C) sending anotification to the representative of the proprietor of said site in theevent said error detected on said site ceases to exist.
 44. The methodof claim 2 comprising the further step of: (C) sending a notification tothe representative of the proprietor of said linked site in the eventsaid error detected on said site ceases to exist.
 45. The method ofclaim 3 comprising the further step of: (C) sending a notification tothe representative of the proprietor of said linked site in the eventsaid error detected on said site ceases to exist.
 46. The method ofclaim 4 comprising the further step of: (C) sending a notification tosaid interested third party in the event said error detected on saidsite ceases to exist.
 47. The method of claim 5 comprising the furtherstep of: (C) sending a notification to said interested third party inthe event said error detected on said site ceases to exist.
 48. A methodof identifying at least one appropriate electronic mail address to whicha notification is sent upon an occurrence of an error in a site locatedon a global communications network, wherein said site is being monitoredfor the occurrence of errors, comprising the steps of: (A) extracting atleast one electronic mail address from said site; (B) assigning eachsaid electronic mail address one or more categories; (C) assigning eachsaid electronic mail address a priority; and (D) identifying, based uponsaid priority, the at least one appropriate electronic mail address towhich said electronic notification is sent upon said occurrence of saiderror in said site; wherein said notification is at least initiallyperformed without the advance permission of a representative of aproprietor of the site and wherein a fee is not charged for saidmonitoring.
 49. The method of claim 48 wherein said one or morecategories are assigned based on several factors comprising a subjectmatter of said electronic mail address; a domain of said electronic mailaddress; and a location of said electronic mail address on said site.50. The method of claim 48 wherein said assignment of priority stepcomprises: (E) assigning a weight to each said category assigned to saidelectronic mail address; and (F) assigning said priority based on saidweights.
 51. The method of claim 48 comprising the further step of: (E)ceasing to send said notification upon receipt of a predeterminedresponse from a user associated with said appropriate electronic mailaddress.
 52. A method of enrolling a subscriber in a service, whichservice remotely monitors a site located on a global communicationsnetwork for errors and which service sends a notification to anelectronic mail address upon detecting an error on said site, comprisingthe steps of: (A) identifying an electronic location address of saidsite upon submission of said electronic location address to a searchengine service which search engine service performs searches on saidglobal communications network; (B) identifying a proprietor electronicmail address associated with a representative of a proprietor of saidsite upon submission of said electronic mail address to said searchengine service; (C) automatically including said electronic locationaddress in a database of electronic location addresses associated withone or more additional sites which are located on said globalcommunications network and which are monitored by said monitoringservice; and (D) automatically identifying said proprietor electronicmail address as the electronic mail address to which a notification issent upon the detection of an error on said site by said monitoringservice.
 53. A method of enrolling a subscriber in a service, whichservice remotely monitors a site located on a global communicationsnetwork for errors and which service sends a notification to anelectronic mail address upon the occurrence of a site event, comprisingthe steps of: (A) identifying one or more potential electronic locationaddresses associated with said site upon submission of an electroniclocation address to a domain name registry service for registration; (B)identifying at least one proprietor electronic mail address associatedwith a representative of a proprietor of said site upon submission ofsaid electronic mail address to said domain name registry service; (C)automatically including said potential electronic location addresses ina database of electronic location addresses associated with one or moreadditional sites which are located on said global communications networkand which are monitored by said monitoring service; and (D)automatically identifying said at least one proprietor electronic mailaddress as the electronic mail address to which said notification issent upon the occurrence of said site event.
 54. The method of claim 53wherein said site event corresponds to registration of the electroniclocation address with said domain name registry service.
 55. The methodof claim 53 wherein said site event occurs when said site becomesaccessible by users of said global communications network.
 56. Themethod of claim 53 wherein said site event corresponds to detection ofan error in said site by the monitoring service.
 57. A method ofgenerating a list of at least one recipient of a remote monitoringservice, which monitoring service detects one or more events on a sitelocated on a global communications network, wherein said list is usablefor a plurality of commercial purposes in addition to said monitoringservice, comprising the steps of: (A) generating said list at leastinitially without advance permission from said at least one recipient;(B) rendering said monitoring service by a service provider withoutpayment by said at least one recipient; and (C) rendering said serviceto said at least one recipient continually until the occurrence of aterminating event.
 58. The method of claim 57 wherein said terminatingevent is receipt by said service provider of a request by said at leastone recipient to terminate said monitoring service.
 59. The method ofclaim 57 wherein said terminating event is a failure of said serviceprovider to receive a response from said at least one recipient.
 60. Anapparatus which remotely monitors a site located on a globalcommunications network comprising one or more computers which monitorsaid site for an error, and transmit a notification to a representativeof a proprietor of said site in the event said error is detected on saidsite; wherein the notification is at least initially sent withoutadvance permission of the representative of said proprietor for at leastan initial period and wherein a fee is not charged for said monitoringservice for a free time period.
 61. An apparatus which remotely monitorsa site located on a global communications network comprising one or morecomputers which monitor said site for an error, and transmit anotification to a representative of a proprietor of a linked site, whichis linked to said site, in the event said error is detected on saidsite; wherein the notification is at least initially sent withoutadvance permission of a representative of a proprietor of said site forat least an initial time period and wherein a fee is not charged forsaid monitoring service for a free time period.
 62. An apparatus whichremotely monitors a site located on a global communications networkcomprising one or more computers which monitor said site for an error,and transmit a notification to a representative of a proprietor of alinked site, which is linked to said site, in the event said error isdetected on said site; wherein the notification is at least initiallysent without advance permission of said representative of saidproprietor of said linked site for at least an initial time period andwherein a fee is not charged for said monitoring service for a free timeperiod.
 63. An apparatus which remotely monitors a site located on aglobal communications network comprising one or more computers whichmonitor said site for an error, and transmit a notification to aninterested third party, wherein said interested third party is a partyother than a representative of a proprietor of said site, in the eventsaid error is detected on said site; and wherein the notification is atleast initially sent without advance permission of said representativeof said proprietor for at least an initial time period and wherein a feeis not charged for said monitoring service for a free time period. 64.An apparatus which remotely monitors a site located on a globalcommunications network comprising one or more computers which monitorsaid site for an error, and transmit a notification to an interestedthird party, wherein said interested third party is a party other than arepresentative of a proprietor of said site, in the event said error isdetected on said site; and wherein the notification is at leastinitially sent without advance permission of said interested third partyfor at least an initial time period and wherein a fee is not charged forsaid monitoring service for a free time period.
 65. An apparatus whichidentifies at least one appropriate electronic mail address to which anotification is sent upon an occurrence of an error in a site located ona global communications network, wherein said site is being monitoredfor the occurrence of errors, comprising one or more computers whichextract at least one electronic mail address from said site, assign eachsaid electronic mail address one or more categories, assign each saidelectronic mail address a priority; and identify, based upon saidpriority, the at least one appropriate electronic mail address to whichsaid electronic notification is sent upon said occurrence of said errorin said site; wherein said notification is at least initially performedwithout the advance permission of a representative of a proprietor ofthe site and wherein a fee is not charged for said monitoring.
 66. Anapparatus which enrolls a subscriber in a service, which serviceremotely monitors a site located on a global communications network forerrors and which service sends a notification to an electronic mailaddress upon detecting an error on said site, comprising one or morecomputers which identify an electronic location address of said siteupon submission of said electronic location address to a search engineservice which search engine service performs searches on said globalcommunications network, identify a proprietor electronic mail addressassociated with a representative of a proprietor of said site uponsubmission of said electronic mail address to said search engineservice, automatically include said electronic location address in adatabase of electronic location addresses associated with one or moreadditional sites which are located on said global communications networkand which are monitored by said monitoring service, and automaticallyidentify said proprietor electronic mail address as the electronic mailaddress to which a notification is sent upon the detection of an erroron said site by said monitoring service.
 67. A method of enrolling asubscriber in a service, which service remotely monitors a site locatedon a global communications network for errors and which service sends anotification to an electronic mail address upon the occurrence of a siteevent, comprising one or more computers which identify one or morepotential electronic location addresses associated with said site uponsubmission of an electronic location address to a domain name registryservice for registration, identify at least one proprietor electronicmail address associated with a representative of a proprietor of saidsite upon submission of said electronic mail address to said domain nameregistry service, automatically include said potential electroniclocation addresses in a database of electronic location addressesassociated with one or more additional sites which are located on saidglobal communications network and which are monitored by said monitoringservice, and automatically identify said at least one proprietorelectronic mail address as the electronic mail address to which saidnotification is sent upon the occurrence of said site event.
 68. Anapparatus which generates a list of at least one recipient of a remotemonitoring service, which monitoring service detects one or more eventson a site located on a global communications network, wherein said listis usable for a plurality of commercial purposes in addition to saidmonitoring service, comprising one or more computers which generate saidlist at least initially without advance permission from said at leastone recipient; render said monitoring service by a service providerwithout payment by said at least one recipient; and render said serviceto said at least one recipient continually until the occurrence of aterminating event.